Baba Hari Dass , born in Almora near Nainital, Uttar Pradesh , India, was a yoga master, a silent monk, and a commentator of Indian scriptural tradition of Dharma and Moksha. He was classically trained in Ashtanga Yoga – Raja Yoga of Patanjali , as well as Kriya Yoga, Ayurveda, Samkhya, Tantra Yoga, Vedanta, and Sanskrit.
Born into the 13th generation of a Kumaoni Karnatak Brahmin lineage, in the lunar month of Chaitra, in Shukla Paksha , he belonged to a traditional family and was one of several siblings [2]. He was an author, playwright, martial arts teacher, sculptor and builder of temples. Upon his arrival in the US in the early 1971, he and his teachings inspired the creation of several yoga centers and retreat programs in California and in Canada. His extensive literary output includes scriptural commentaries to Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Samkhya Karika, and Vedanta, collections of wisdom aphorisms about the meaning and purpose of life, essays, plays, short stories, children's stories, kirtan mantras, and in-depth instructional yoga materials that form the basis of a yoga certification-training program.He was an early proponent of Ayurveda in the United States, an ancient Indian system of health and healing. In an annual rendition of Indian classic Ramayana, he taught performing arts, choreography and costume making. With the emphasis on selfless service that guided his life and action that benefits the world, he devoted himself to helping others and in 1987 he opened Sri Ram Orphanage in Haridwar for homeless children in India. Although he did not speak, he was conversant in several languages in writing.
To the local population of Nainital and Almora, Baba Hari Dass was also known as Haridas , as Haridas Baba, as Chota Maharaji , or as Harda Baba. Baba Hari Dass of Almora-Nainital is a different person than Swami Haridas who was a spiritual poet and classical musician of Bhakti movement era. Also, Haridas was a known saint of clan from Delhi whose temple exists in Jharoda Kalan village, in Najafgarh.
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“The only thing necessary is to understand attachment”
Everyday Peace: Letters for Life, 2000
Contexto: You have everything and you want more. It's natural in human beings. You don't need to give away your house, money, and car, and leave your family to find God. The only thing necessary is to understand attachment. (p.17)
Fuente: The Yellow Book, 1974, p.11
“When happiness moves beyond the mind, that is happiness”
Miscellaneous
Contexto: Q: How are peace and happiness related? Is peace the only real happiness? A: When happiness moves beyond the mind, that is happiness. (March 26, 2016)
“Work honestly, meditate every day, meet people without fear, and play.”
Fuente: Ashtanga Yoga Primer, 1981, p.74
“Your body is the temple of your soul. Your soul is God's temple.”
Fuente: The Yellow Book, 1974, p.79
Fuente: The Path to Enlightenment is not a Highway, 1996, p.4
Fuente: The Yellow Book, 1974, concerning smoking and yoga path, p.6
Fuente: Silence Speaks, from the chalkboard of Baba Hari Dass, 1977, p.9
Fuente: Hariakhan Baba: Known, Unknown, 1975, p.78
The Yellow Book, 1974
Contexto: Using siddhis (powers) is not good for those who possess them. It can also trap the mind into desires. By being pure in mind siddhis will come by itself, and a yogi should not try to show his powers. First thing is to have siddhis and then not to get trapped in siddhis. (p.42)
Fuente: The Path to Enlightenment is not a Highway, 1996, p.2
Fuente: Ashtanga Yoga Primer, 1981, p.11
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III, 2013
Contexto: Samyama, which is the application of concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and superconscious trance (samadhi) in lightning succession, is practiced with the intent to gain specific knowledge of the object of concentration. The object is seen from all sides, in all its aspects, with full depth and breadth. As such, this complete absorption of the mind using the process of samyama brings complete and specific knowledge of the object. This power of knowing is vibhuti. (Bk. III, Sutra 4, p.7)
Silence Speaks, from the chalkboard of Baba Hari Dass, 1977
Contexto: Q: Can intellect aid understanding? A: It helps in the beginning but cannot give full enlightenment. The mind is the main instrument to gain enlightenment, but enlightenment is only reached when the mind stops. Q: How can we stop the mind? A: Not hitting it with a hammer. Stop the mind by the mind. (p.31)
“The ego rules the mind because it links the “I” with the mind and body”
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book II, 2008
Contexto: The ego rules the mind because it links the “I” with the mind and body. If the “I,” which is another name for the self, were not identified with the mind and body, the ego would have no power. Self-study [svadhyaya], therefore, is the set of practices that investigates the nature of the self to discover its origin. When the origin is found to be separate from the body, the ego loses the battle and peace is attain. (Bk. II, Sutra 1, p.5)
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book I, 1999
Contexto: Yoga is defined as a method – the process of nirodha (mental control) – by which union (the goal of yoga) is achieved. Yoga is therefore both the process of nirodha and the unqualified state of niruddha (the perfection of that process). The word yoga (union) implies duality (as in joining of two things or principles); the result of yoga is the nondual state..., or as the union of the lower self and higher Self. The nondual state is characterized by the absence of individuality; it can be described as eternal peace, pure love, Self-realization, or liberation. (Sutra 2, Bk I, p.5)
“A wise person is one who sees the effect of an action before he acts.”
Fuente: Fire without Fuel - The Aphorisms of Baba Hari Dass, 1986, p.41
“Faith and devotion are the foundation on which meditation is built.”
Fuente: Ashtanga Yoga Primer, 1981, p.27
Miscellaneous
Contexto: Control of the mind can be achieved by understanding yourself, the aim and the energy which is blocking us from progressing. Between God and the Self, the blocking energy is the ego. If the ego is pulled toward the world, it makes a wall. If the same ego is pulled toward God, it makes a ladder.
“Yoga is defined as a method – the process of nirodha”
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book I, 1999
Contexto: Yoga is defined as a method – the process of nirodha (mental control) – by which union (the goal of yoga) is achieved. Yoga is therefore both the process of nirodha and the unqualified state of niruddha (the perfection of that process). The word yoga (union) implies duality (as in joining of two things or principles); the result of yoga is the nondual state..., or as the union of the lower self and higher Self. The nondual state is characterized by the absence of individuality; it can be described as eternal peace, pure love, Self-realization, or liberation. (Sutra 2, Bk I, p.5)
“Pleasure has desire in it. Desire is pain. There is no satisfaction. So pleasure is pain.”
Fuente: The Yellow Book, 1974, p.65
Fuente: The Path to Enlightenment is not a Highway, 1996, p.65
“Anything that exists will never be destroyed; its disappearance is simply a transformation.”
Fuente: Fire without Fuel - The Aphorisms of Baba Hari Dass, 1986, p.18
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book I, 1999
Contexto: Yoga is defined as a method – the process of nirodha (mental control) – by which union (the goal of yoga) is achieved. Yoga is therefore both the process of nirodha and the unqualified state of niruddha (the perfection of that process). The word yoga (union) implies duality (as in joining of two things or principles); the result of yoga is the nondual state..., or as the union of the lower self and higher Self. The nondual state is characterized by the absence of individuality; it can be described as eternal peace, pure love, Self-realization, or liberation. (Sutra 2, Bk I, p.5)
Fuente: The Yellow Book, 1974, p.13
“A person knows what he knows. An animal knows, but doesn't know what he knows”
Fire without Fuel - The Aphorisms of Baba Hari Dass, 1986
Contexto: A person knows what he knows. An animal knows, but doesn't know what he knows. In Yoga, "I" consciousness is called asmita klesha. It is classified as an affliction and a hindrance to attaining higher consciousness. There is always a chance for a person to break out of the cycle, but there is no such chance for an animal unless it incarnates as a human and develops "I" consciousness. (p.36-7)
